Reading Frederick Douglass in Massachusetts

"What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?" --Frederick Douglass, 1852

This Fourth of July, take a moment to reflect on the state of democracy at home before diving in to your hot dogs, hamburgers, and fireworks. Frederick Douglass did just that on July 5, 1852 in his pivotal speech, “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro,” when he publicly took exception to being asked to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Mass Humanities[2] is sponsoring rereadings of Douglass’ speech in Springfield, Boston, Lynn, and Worcester for Independence Day. They hope that by tracing the words of this powerful speech, community members will be able to come together to meditate, reflect, and perhaps even bond over this novel way to commemorate a national holiday. Participants can choose to read from the speech, or simply listen to others as they read. Either way, come ready to feel inspired and connected to the community through these powerful words.